Gulf | Bahrain

Bahrain sentences activist’s daughter to jail

Dubai: A Bahraini court on Monday sentenced the daughter of prominent opposition activist Hadi Al Khawaja to one month in jail for taking part in an unauthorised demonstration, her lawyer said.

Zainab Al Khawaja, the eldest of the rights activist’s daughters, was found guilty of entering the “prohibited area” of Pearl Square, the main symbol of 2011 protests crushed by security forces, on February 12, the lawyer said.

She also was fined 100 dinars ($258).

Her lawyers disputed the charges, saying there was “no formal decision declaring that Pearl Square is a forbidden area”.

Defence attorney Mohammad Al Wasta also said on his Twitter account that the prosecution ordered Al Khawaja’s detention for a week on charges of incitement against the regime.

Al Khawaja, whose father is serving a life sentence for plotting against the state, has faced justice on several occasions already this year.